Building Towers

By Andrew R. Duckworth

It was a long time ago, and maybe
It never happened but the story
Serves as a device of some kind:
People were wild with ambition,
Patting themselves on the back
For all of their labor, their
Grand works, their lifting of self
On tall pedestals- the taller they
Built, the taller the pedestals- a
Virus of the mind that suggested
We held total control, that we
Were as gods towering over all.
It was that same virus that
Led people to be lost to self
To the point that we no longer
Understood each other, drifted
Off and away from each other,
Too consumed with our own
Deification to listen or even
Understand each other’s speech.

Today, we tower. We have been
Here before, forgetting it
Leads to our own destruction.